Don’t think of it as nagging, it’s just Adware. Free to use, but you have to put up with seeing the ads. If you want the ads to go away then you have to purchase the ad free version each year.
The solution on Windows is to put in a firewall rule to prevent it from getting to the internet. If/when it needs to verify ownership at some point, just disable the rule, start the Topaz product, then re-enable the rule.
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thanks I strongly suspect that that will come into play next year…
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Eric - I think for any of us that actually use your products, we already know the value, and, assuming there will be a discount for current users to renew, the majority of us will faithfully continue to renew and use your outstanding products. For me Topaz products have been awesome. I won’t say I use them for everything of course, but when I need that specific GigaPixel enlargement, it is there! Thanks.
Dream on! We have to pay the full price!
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I think you also know there is a cap $99 for all 4 products and $49 for one unless there is a special promotion.
Please stop saying things that are untrue as users may actually believe you if they assume you know what you are talking about.
$ 99,- is the full price for the current user for 4 plugins a year! So nothing untrue in my reply!
Have not seen any promotion! You?
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49x4 is ? It’s a good discount.
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Right AiDon. It is the same with any book. If you buy a book you have to visit your book store all now and then to verify that you legally bought it years ago. The same with your old coffee machine. 
This is how I look at it. If I hadn’t bought the products with the expectation that all upgrades were included and if I planned to upgrade 2 or more products, I wouldn’t have a huge problem paying $99 to upgrade all of my Topaz products every 2 or 3 years. My problem stems from the fact that, based on Topaz’s historical upgrade policy of free upgrades for life, I did not expect to ever pay anything more for these products. People say that is not reasonable to expect them to continue developing if we don’t keep giving them money, but there are many successful companies with a business model which allows you to buy a lifetime upgrade license - this is no different. That higher one-time license fee lets you keep operating and if you keep innovating, you will get new customers - that is your revenue stream. Topaz products were overpriced when I bought them but I believed that I was essentially buying a lifetime upgrade licenses so the price was justifiable. If they want to change the model for new customers, that is their right. It may even be their legal right to do what they are doing. But as the saying goes - just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you SHOULD. They have destroyed their customer loyalty for some percentage of their customers. The question remains to be seen whether that is the “vocal minority” or not.
Maybe they will have a special promotion for upgrades at some point or maybe they already have but I didn’t see it, but so far I have not seen any indication they are budging from the upgrade policy in the first post.
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Agree completely. I’m enjoying the slow, steady development of neural filters in Photoshop. Sky replacement, neural denoise, and as of yesterday Super Resolution. Gigapixel just took a hit. I’m looking forward to Adobe making unscrupulous companies like Topaz and Skylum go the way of the dinosaur. And I am a former customer of both.
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Yes!
Super Resolution is looking good!
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What makes you think that Adobe, a huge multinational, is any more scrupulous? Call me old-fashioned, but I think a bit of competition in this increasingly mercantile world is a good thing. I’m one who has moved away from Adobe as a result of its expensive subscription base and all the happier to have found alternatives.
I have seen some comparisons between Gigapixel AI and the new Photoshop equivalent, and the former achieved better results.
Adobe has not raised their subscription price in years. $10 a month is pretty reasonable to get the latest version of PS and LRC, not to mention the mobile and cloud stuff which I don’t use. More importantly, Adobe never charged 4x the value for a bunch of one-trick plug ins under the promise of free upgrades for life, then reneged. Charging 80% of Adobe’s annual subscription rate for a maintenance subscription for 2-4 one-trick plug-ins compared to what Adobe offers is not a good value IMO. And some people are more sensitive to being lied to than others I suppose.
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I am glad you are happy with what you have. I am with what I have.
I’d just like to ask if you think Adobe would have brought out sky replacement if Luminar hadn’t got there is advance? Without competition there is less likely to be innovation.
(And, but the way, I was obliged to pay my Adobe subscription in sterling, so it was the equivalent of $140 USD a month. I didn’t see why I should have to pay more than subscribers in the US. Not very ethical IMHO)
Over and out.
There is no doubt that competition is a good thing for customers. We can all speculate about whether the current pricing is too high or not, but things are only worth as much as people are willing to pay. I’m not willing to pay anything else for the Topaz products, nor am I willing to pay $10/month to Adobe to rent their software. Others however have no problem with it. I’m not saying anyone is right or wrong regarding the cost - that’s all a matter of personal opinion and the cost/value for an individual. What I am saying is that I believe it is wrong to change the model after we purchased the products. Eric even said they were changing it in the initial post of this thread. It is different from what Adobe did when they went to a subscription - they never had a model where they gave free upgrades for the lifetime of the product.
It seems very clear based on the lack of any official comments that this thread is getting absolutely no attention from anyone in any position to change the policy so we’re all just wasting our time here. I for one am done wasting my time with Topaz.
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I’ve been happy with Denoise AI and Sharpen AI, but will have to be satisfied with what I can do in Lightroom henceforth. At an annual rental of $49 each they are outside my fixed income limits. And, I’m offended that what I was promised by Topaz’s marketing a year or so ago is in fact misleading and untrue. I understand the company has to make a profit but am saddened to realize that only the wealthy can have access to technologies like this. The tenor of my recommendations to camera clubs and online about this software will shift in response, of course. Goodbye, Topaz!
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Hi Could you please confirm my understanding of this topic. I bought Topaz AI Sharpen and absolutely love it - can’t do without it. BUT I didn’t realise it was subscription.
BUT are you saying if I don’t want to upgrade at the moment I can postpone my updating which is currently due, and only update say next year. Is this correct below?
- My plugin will still be completely workable at this level until I upgrade.
- If I decide to upgrade in 1 year, I still pay the $49 for all the upgrades to that point. And then that payment will last for the next year.
Basically if I don’t upgrade, I just don’t get the benefit of the upgrades. My plugin is still completely useable. But as soon as I do even 6 months down the road, I will be charged for the next 12 months from that date. My plugin will still work?
Yes, that’s currently how it works.
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